Camouflage remover on duck blind

ABSTRACT

A spring loaded shaft normally supporting a camouflage cover in offset relation relative to a duck blind with a latch bolt carried by the shaft into latched engagement with a keeper, trip lever when the cover is swung into covering position over the duck blind and means operable by the occupant of such blind by foot, arm or body pressure to trip such trip lever to release such spring loaded shaft for returning the cover to offset relation relative to the duck blind.

United States Patent [191 Caccamo CAMOUFLAGE REMOVER ON DUCK BLIND [76] Inventor: Samuel E. Caccamo, 1102 Camino Pablo, San Jose, Calif. 95125 [22] Filed: Oct. 10, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 513,660

[52] US. Cl. 43/1 [51] Int. Cl A0lm 31/02 [58] Field of Search 43/1, 61

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,229,685 1/1941 Swedenburg 43/61 f 1 June 3, 1975 7/1961 Webb 43/1 5/1970 Smith ..43/l

Primary Examiner-Warner H. Camp [5 7 ABSTRACT A spring loaded shaft normally supporting a camouflage cover in offset relation relative to a duck blind with a latch bolt carried by the shaft into latched engagement with a keeper, trip lever when the cover is swung into covering position over the duck blind and means operable by the occupant of such blind by foot, arm or body pressure to trip such trip lever to release such spring loaded shaft for returning the cover to offset relation relative to the duck blind.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures CAMOUFLAGE REMOVER N DUCK BLIND BACKGROUND This invention relates to a camouflage cover for a duck blind and the like and more particularly to apparatus for automatically removing such cover from over a blind.

Numerous patents have been granted on covers for duck blinds. In each case such covers are normally set in place and mustbe removed by hand or manually by the occupant of the blind.

The present invention contemplates the provision of means for mounting the cover for swinging movement between a position over the blind to a position offset therefrom. It also includes spring means for normally urging the cover toward offset relation relative to the blind; a latch means for releasably latching the cover in a position over the blind; and a foot or body operated lever or treadle for releasing such latch means against the action of the spring means.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more readily from a reading of the following description in the light of the accompanying single sheet of drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial perspective of a duck blind with cover to conceal the occupant from above;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1 with thecover swung into offset condition relative to the duck blind;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section through the duck blind of FIG. 1 to illustrate the apparatus for automatically removing the cover therefrom in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail through the apparatus involving the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an extension of FIG. 4 to illustrate the attachment of the cover therewith;

FIG. 6 is a section taken through FIG. 4 substantially along line 6-6 therein; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevation of a latch and release mechanism associated with FIG. 6 and as seen from line 77 in FIG. 4.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 a duck blind, generally designated 10 is shown to be in the form of a metal cylinder with bottom and submerged in a body of water as found in a sleugh, reed patch and the like where ducks are likely to stop to rest and feed.

The blind 10 may be of any form desired to provide a relatively comfortable place for a duck hunter to sit and wait for the birds to come in. As shown a cover 11 of matted grass, reed leaves and the like mounted on a wire or metal frame 12 is supported on a pipe stand 13 in offset relation to the vertical center of the blind 10. Such arrangements are well known in the art and usually have a pipe stand which enables the occupant of the blind to swing the cover 11 about the axis of the pipe stand to quickly remove the cover from over the blind. This the occupant must do by hand in a split second or so before the incoming birds detect his presence or that of the blind. Experience wise, if the cover is removed too soon, the birds will veer off, out of range of the hunters gun load. If he waits too long before re-.

moving the cover by hand, he will not have time to raise his gun, aim and fire his gun before the birds pass over and are going away, i.e., hard to hit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As best seen in FIG. 3, the pipe stand 13 has an apparatus 15 associated therewith including the embodiment of the present invention. The pipe stand 13 has a lower portion P provided with a foot 16 secured to an upper rim R or on any suitable bracket provided on the duck blind 10 in offset relation to its center.

The apparatus 15 has a pipe flange 17 secured to the upper end of the lower portion P of the pipe stand 13. A flat plate 18 is welded to or otherwise secured to the pipe flange 17. In the present disclosure the flat plate 18 is preferably circular and concentric to the pipe stand 13.

A shaft 20, independently rotatable relative to the pipe stand 13, has its lower end journaled in a socket 21 in the flat plate 18. The upper end 22 of the shaft 20 is secured to the metal frame 12 of the cover 11 as shown for example in FIG. 5 and supported in a vertical condition by passing through an upper bearing member 23 supported in spaced relation to the flat plate 18 by a cylindrical wall 24.

In accordance with the present invention the shaft 20 and cover frame 12 carried thereby are spring loaded to normally urge the cover 11 out of covering relation above the duck blind 10. This is accomplished by a torsion spring .25 circumscribing the shaft 20 within the housing 26 provided by the cylindrical wall 24, the plate 18 below and the bearing member 23 above. The spring 25 has one end 27 anchored to the plate 18 and its opposite end 28 extending diametrically through the shaft 20. The torsion spring is normally at rest when the cover 11 is removed, i.e., offset relative to the duck blind 10. However, when the cover 11 is swung clockwise (FIG. 2) the torsion sprung 25 becomes torsionally unwound relative to the shaft 20 as will be appreciated from an examination of FIG. 4. In this condition the spring 25 tends to want to return to its natural or normal condition. To prevent the shaft 20 from turning back by action of the spring 25, a latch mechanism 29 is provided.

The latch mechanism 29 includes a latch bolt 30 secured to the shaft 20 and a trip lever 31 normally set to engage the latch bolt 30 for holding the latter against return movement by the action of the torsion spring 25.

More specifically, the latch bolt 30 extends through a bore 32 formed diametrically through the shaft 20. The bore 32 is above the upper bearing member 23 and exteriorly of the housing 26 confining the torsion spring 25. The latch bolt 30 is secured to the shaft 20 as by a set screw 33 and has an integral outer end 34 which extends downwardly just outside the radial limit of the cylindrical wall 24.

The trip lever 31 has a bifrucated end within the housing 26 such that the fork legs 31' of lever 31 are pivotally connected as at 35 to flat faces of a hexagonal collar 36. The collar 36 is mounted for free turning movement on the shaft 20. The collar 36 rests upon a washer 37 bearing down upon the upper end of the torsion spring 25. A tension spring 38 has one end secured to the free ends of the fork legs 31 as by a cross pin 39, the opposite end of spring 38 being anchored as at 40 to the bottom plate 18 of the housing 26.

The washer 37 and collar 36 are set at a level below the upper bearing member 23 to enable the lever 31 to assume an upper inclination from the cross pin 39 on the free ends of the forked legs 31'. The opposite, i.e.

single end 41 of lever 31 extends through a slot 42 formed in the wall 24 of the housing 26 and is limited against upward movement by a stop 43 provided by a flange of the cover or upper bearing member 23.

The extreme end 41 of the lever 31 extends beyond the wall 24 and the downwardly extending integral end 34 of the latch bolt 30 is provided with a biased surface 45 adjacent its lower end. The beveled surface 45 is disposed to engage the extreme end 41 of the lever 31 as it moves clockwise FIG. 6. By this arrangement the biased surface 45 cammingly strikes the end 41 of lever 31 when the cover 11 is swung clockwise to cover the duck blind 10. The cam action of the biased surface 45 depresses the extreme end 41 of lever 31 against the action of the tension spring 38 until the end 41 of the lever 31 passes the trip lever 31. This automatically latches the bolt 30 and shaft in spring loaded condition for return movement by the torsion spring when the lever 31 is tripped.

The trip lever 31 has the tip end of its extreme end 41 connected to a flexible cable, chain, string 46 or the like. The opposite end of this flexible cable 46 is connected to a treadle 47 or any form of means by which the cable can be pulled downwardly. In the present disclosure I have shown a foot pedal 47 disposed to be pressed down by a foot of the occupant of the blind. In this manner, the occupant of the blind can direct his attention to an oncoming flight of birds while he is concealed under the cover 1 1. He stands with his gun ready and, at his option, depresses the pedal 47 at the precise moment he wishes to remove the cover, raise his gun and fire at the birds.

Having thus explained my apparatus for automatically removing a camouflage cover from over a duck blind, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although specifically defined, the same may be susceptible to modifications, alterations and/or variations without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention therein as called for in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a camouflage cover adapted to overlie and conceal the occupant of a duck blind from above and a support having an axis offset relative to center of such blind and cover to afford swinging movement of the cover from above said blind; means for automatically removing such cover from over the blind comprising:

a. a shaft having its upper end secured to the periphery of such cover and its lower end journaled for turning movement in an axis of such offset support;

b. spring means normally urging said shaft in one direction for swinging the cover thereon out of recovering relation to said duck blind;

c. means for releasably latching said shaft into a a position in which the cover thereon is over the duck blind; and

d. lever means operable by pressure applied thereto by the occupant of said blind for releasing said releasable latching means.

2. The means for removing a camouflage cover from over a blind in accordance with claim 1 in which said shaft has its lower end journaled on a flat plate; a cylindrical wall circumscribing said shaft and resting on said flat plate; and an upper bearing member for said shaft resting upon said cylindrical wall for supporting said shaft in vertical condition and free rotation about its vertical axis.

3. The means for removing a camouflage cover from over a blind in accordance with claim 2 in which said spring means is a torsion spring circumscribing said shaft and having one end anchored to said flat plate and its opposite end attached to said shaft for turning the latter in one direction to remove the camouflage cover from over the blind.

4. The means for removing the camouflage cover from over a blind as called for in claim 3 in which said means for releasably latching said shaft in a position in which said cover overlies said blind comprises:

a. a latch pin extending laterally from said shaft above the upper bearing member supporting the latter, said latch pin having a downwardly integral end radially beyond the cylindrical wall of the shaft support;

b. a latch lever pivotally mounted on an axis transverse to that of said shaft and having one keeper end adapted to engage said integral end of said latch bolt;

and

c. a tension spring between the opposite end of said latch lever and the flat plate shaft support for normally urging said one keeper end of said latch lever into engagement with the integral end of said latch bolt for holding the latter and shaft against return movement by action of said torsion spring.

5. The means for removing the camouflage cover from over a blind in accordance with claim 4 including a foot treadle in said blind, and a flexible cable between said foot treadle and the said one keeper end of said latch lever for pulling down upon said cable and latch lever against the action of said tension spring for releasing said latch pin and shaft for movement by said torsion spring. 

1. In combination with a camouflage cover adapted to overlie and conceal the occupant of a duck blind from above and a support having an axis offset relative to center of such blind and cover to afford swinging movement of the cover from above said blind; means for automatically removing such cover from over the blind comprising: a. a shaft having its upper end secured to the periphery of such cover and its lower end journaled for turning movement in an axis of such offset support; b. spring means normally urging said shaft in one direction for swinging the cover thereon out of recovering relation to said duck blind; c. means for releasably latching said shaft into a a position in which the cover thereon is over the duck blind; and d. lever means operable by pressure applied thereto by the occupant of said blind for releasing said releasable latching means.
 1. In combination with a camouflage cover adapted to overlie and conceal the occupant of a duck blind from above and a support having an axis offset relative to center of such blind and cover to afford swinging movement of the cover from above said blind; means for automatically removing such cover from over the blind comprising: a. a shaft having its upper end secured to the periphery of such cover and its lower end journaled for turning movement in an axis of such offset support; b. spring means normally urging said shaft in one direction for swinging the cover thereon out of recovering relation to said duck blind; c. means for releasably latching said shaft into a a position in which the cover thereon is over the duck blind; and d. lever means operable by pressure applied thereto by the occupant of said blind for releasing said releasable latching means.
 2. The means for removing a camouflage cover from over a blind in accordance with claim 1 in which said shaft has its lower end journaled on a flat plate; a cylindrical wall circumscribing said shaft and resting on said flat plate; and an upper bearing member for said shaft resting upon said cylindrical wall for supporting said shaft in vertical condition and free rotation about its vertical axis.
 3. The means for removing a camouflage cover from over a blind in accordance with claim 2 in which said spring means is a torsion spring circumscribing said shaft and having one end anchored to said flat plate and its opposite end attached to said shaft for turning the latter in one direction to remove the camouflage cover from over the blind.
 4. The means for removing the camouflage cover from over a blind as called for in claim 3 in which said means for releasably latching said shaft in a position in which said cover overlies said blind comprises: a. a latch pin extending laterally from said shaft above the upper bearing member supporting the latter, said latch pin having a downwardly integral end radially beyond the cylindrical wall of the shaft support; b. a latch lever pivotally mounted on an axis transverse to that of said shaft and having one keeper end adapted to engage said integral end of said latch bolt; and c. a tension spring between the opposite end of said latch lever and the flat plate shaft support for normally urging said one keeper end of said latch lever into engagement with the integral end of said latch bolt for holding the latter and shaft against returN movement by action of said torsion spring. 